Editor's note: Lauren Orsini is a reporter for the Daily Dot, the hometown newspaper of the World Wide Web, the paper of record for what happens online. Follow her on Twitter @laureninspace. You can find more images of "Homestuck" cosplay on photographer Ed Tan's Flickr account.

In an age of computers, smartphones, and instant gratification, studies lead us to believe that our attention spans are the shortest they’ve ever been.

If that were completely true though, a 5,000 plus page webcomic shouldn’t be able to attract millions of fans, much less inspire them to raise a million dollars in under a week.

“Homestuck,” cartoonist Andrew Hussie’s longest and latest project, is a video game inspired saga set in the Internet age. In the story, rife with Generation Y pop culture references, teenagers unite through an online game in order to save the world.

“I like Homestuck because it is one of the first pieces of media that genuinely appeals to me as a person who grew up in a very Internet based generation,” wrote Deanna Bennett, 20, in an email responding to my Tumblr request for "Homestuck" fanatics.

“Homestuck is meant to live online. It combines a lot of Internet humor that a lot of mainstream cartoons and comics are trying to desperately to tap but are failing and missing every damn time.”

Sounds like fun, right? But choosing to read it is a big commitment—in the form of hours and hours of free time. Fans compare its length to a that of a Greek epic. It has more than 100 main characters. And instead of comic panels, its gigantic pages are a mix of still and animated images, intimidating walls of text, Flash movies with original music, and even short video games.

“Homestuck is perhaps the first modern work to make full use of the Internet as not just a distribution tool but as a fully realized artistic medium,” wrote Clark Powell, 20. “Text, music, artwork, interactive, and animation are all combined in ways that have never been attempted before. On top of that, Homestuck is a piece of work whose very narrative is something of relevance to a new generation; it is, after all, a comic about the Internet, video games, and pop culture, if it can even be called a ‘comic.’”

Recently, the convoluted comic (and Hussie’s tendency to coin his own vocabulary for the script) prompted PBS’s Idea Channel to speculate that “Homestuck” just might be “the Ulysses of the Internet.” But as host Mike Rugnetta suggests, with great effort comes an incredible reward—the psychological theory of effort justification indicates that fans who stick it out will certainly grow attached.

“Homestuck's fans are a lot like the fans of the big, weird cult classics of the last half-century,” wrote Rob, 24, a graduate student who asked that we not use his last name in order to keep his internet and academic lives separate.

“That special enthusiasm, that ‘Let me tell you about Homestuck’ gleam-in-the-eye, isn't a product of Hussie's interactions with the fanbase so much as it's the universal demeanor of people who are into something wild and crazy and mindblowing, something that feels like a whole fever-dream world you can get lost in.”

Judging by the public statistics of Hussie’s advertising campaign, around 1 million unique visitors check the site for their “Homestuck” fix every day. Some more fervent fans are even involved in the comic’s creation process, since Hussie has been known to update as many as ten times in one day, making the comic a Herculean effort even with their help. A handful of volunteers, including Powell, draw art and compose original music for the comic.

“The fact that Andrew Hussie actively encourages the fans to be involved in contributing art and music truly blends the line between creator and reader,” wrote Sangdi Chen, 21.

Fans have also created a plethora of unofficial works, including fanfiction, fanart, and cosplay ensembles based on the characters. Colorful red and orange horns, found atop the heads of Homestuck’s alien race, the Trolls, dot the crowds at anime conventions and help fans recognize one another as kindred.

Cassandra Baden, 19, said the camaraderie of fans, both online and off, helped her get through a bout of depression during her first semester of college. Being away from home made her feel overly shy, but the Homestuck community gave her confidence to come out of her shell.

“Homestuck served as a gateway of sorts to other people,” she wrote. “I could go online, log into any of the many websites and be able to find a group of people I could talk to. I was scared to bring up my problems but like I had said before, they were family and immediately lent a hand when I needed it. The more I talked to them, the more confident I was talking to strangers on campus.”

“Homestuck”’s emphasis on friendships, especially long-distance ones, is especially important to fans like 19-year-old Sierra, from Texas, who asked that we refer to her using a pseudonym, for privacy's sake.

“In Homestuck, before the game starts, none of them have met in person. But they're still as close as friends can be, and their relationships are treated with the same seriousness that other friendships get,” Sierra wrote. “Homestuck has been a mutual bonding point for me and many of my Internet friends. When I met my best friend for the first time in July, I wore a Homestuck shirt to the airport so she could pick me out of the crowd instantly.”

After three years, Homestuck is beginning to receive attention outside of its close knit community—because money talks. When Hussie told fans he aspired to create a video game based on the comic and asked them to fund it, they eagerly complied, raising $1.9 million dollars in less than a month. Fans, once sequestered, are now aware of their power as a group.

“The enthusiasm is infectious,” wrote Avi Roberts, 22. “In the past three and a half years, I’ve watched a tiny community of people swapping inside jokes and suggesting names for the characters grow into a massive fandom capable of raising a million dollars in less than a week.”

Hussie himself, however, is not surprised. His fans have a will of their own. Even if he wanted to wield more power over Homestuck, he doesn’t think he could.

“The comic itself is still under my control,” he wrote. “I still make decisions about the story the same way I always did. But Homestuck as a ‘movement’ is not under my control, and never really was.”

soundoff(183 Responses)

HomestuckGetStuck

omfg im so proud we did it guys we made it happen. we got on CNN. so freaking happy and im really proud to be apart of this fandom. woot woot!

July 20, 2013 at 2:08 pm |

cxneruvbm

Hey~`My Life is so lonely .How about you? I need a man who can love me back , Recently, I join a serious black white dating site on__ MixêdMàtching. ℂoм___ I just want to find my true love. This is the best place for looking for interracial dating, relationship,love or marriage. Specialize in bringing together singles who want to date different races. .)If you are single, take a try.

I like the helpful info you provide in your articles.
I'll bookmark your blog and check again here frequently. I'm quite certain I will learn lots of new stuff right here!
Best of luck for the next!

May 6, 2013 at 1:33 am |

backlink

Regardless, employment prospects in this field should be good enough as qualified workers are in limited supply. Also, these small automated welding projects can help you ideal some from the square sheet metals gets welded to the path from the checklist. Knowing what to expect is half the battle. (|||| backlink http://fiverr.com/twnseobacklink

April 24, 2013 at 9:58 am |

The best search engine

Thanks for writing this great post..Liked your articles. Remember to do maintain writing The best search engine http://asdasgh333dsdfs5hf.com

Yes, people are reporting on a popular webcomic, which many people think is awesome. Deal with it.

March 6, 2013 at 12:15 am |

skytub youtube

Terrific paintings! That is the type of info that are supposed to be shared across the net. Shame on Google for no longer positioning this post higher! Come on over and talk over with my website . Thank you =)

January 3, 2013 at 6:11 pm |

Rai mp3

Hi my friend! I want to say that this article is amazing, great written and include approximately all vital infos. I would like to see extra posts like this .

December 30, 2012 at 7:35 am |

Osgoode Thorndippe

I thought it was gonna be Ace Kilroy...

December 28, 2012 at 11:28 am |

cover letter writing

Hi there, I found your web site by way of Google while searching for a comparable subject, your site came up, it seems to be great. I've added to my favourites|added to my bookmarks.

December 22, 2012 at 5:26 am |

furniture

A person essentially lend a hand to make seriously posts I would state. This is the first time I frequented your website page and thus far? I surprised with the research you made to make this actual submit amazing. Excellent task!

December 15, 2012 at 9:04 pm |

nerves

tavros spelled backwards is mcnuggets.

December 9, 2012 at 9:12 pm |

resume cover letter

Hi there, I discovered your site via Google at the same time as searching for a similar topic, your web site got here up, it appears great. I have added to my favourites|added to bookmarks.

December 8, 2012 at 5:50 pm |

graco

Thank you, I have recently been looking for information about this topic for a long time and yours is the best I've discovered so far. But, what concerning the conclusion? Are you positive about the supply?|What i do not understood is actually how you're not actually much more neatly-liked than you may be now. You're so intelligent.

November 15, 2012 at 12:09 pm |

french revolution storming of the bastille

Pretty portion of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to say that I get in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing for your augment and even I success you get admission to constantly quickly.

November 12, 2012 at 11:37 am |

AnakarayaSlytherin

So proud of this fandom to have gone so far! We climbed the whole mountain guys! hehe😀

But truly, I am proud of this fandom. We have so many amazing cosplayers, artists, video and music makers. I have seen, and been in, many creative fandoms, but never one as creative as this one!

Yes, it's true we have some crazy and bad people in the fandom... but every fandom does! I have never seen a fandom that DOESNT have people like that. And to accuse the ENTIRE fandom of being like that is completely silly.

Anyways, I am very proud of this fandom for making it so far.🙂

October 30, 2012 at 9:13 am |

SuperSiblings

I think that this story is amazing and the fandom is incredible. More online comics need support like this and I love the idea of such a small community being able to grow into something like this. It is very inspirational for us trying to get off the ground! Best of luck to Homestuck!

I don't care about our shameful videos, mishaps, overly crazy people, too loud obnoxious fans... I actually love our entire fandom! I love Homestuck, the adventures, the dorky jokes, talking to people about updates, making close friends, bonding, reading fanfiction, enjoying fanart, watching people actually have fun! All those "bad fans" are kind of like the annoying cousins at a family reunion that I want to punch in the face, but I also still love them. I love it all, good and bad, so who cares what videos get posted? Maybe that's just me. I'm going to go read fanfiction of my OTP now. I love you guys, and goodbye!

You, sir, clearly do not know how to read inbetween lines. And pictures. And, uh. Stuff.

But Terezi has been getting just as much character development as Vriska; it's just that she doesn't spend 10 hours angsting over it every time. V_V

October 3, 2012 at 12:48 pm |

Dave Strider

lets just face it youre too cool to be on this page

October 3, 2012 at 7:04 pm |

Mahesh

Never said it was normal, my 19 year old is anhnyitg but normal. Have you ever seen someone blow their nose by holding one nostril and blowing real hard without a tissue? It's realy gross.

November 14, 2012 at 7:50 am |

hackingPyromaniac

homestuck will take over ALL THE THINGS!!!!!

October 3, 2012 at 10:00 am |

Homestuckfan

homestuck changed my life. My feels hurt so badly. That is all.

October 2, 2012 at 5:41 pm |

ariana x

wow we did it kids im crying

October 2, 2012 at 3:28 pm |

Brandy

oh my god. so we're filling videos at the comment section now? okay yeah I'll go with it.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Owq7SFehU&w=640&h=390]
I love this fandom. okay bye see you all at tumblr.

Wow, seriously? That is what you think? A lot of those costumes, friend, are detailed and HAND SEWN, with even more work than a lot of anime cosplays get. The horns have to be sculpted and painted, wings have to be made delicately, and the gray makeup is freaking EXPENSIVE and difficult to apply and keep on. It takes DEDICATION to troll cosplay, especially God Tier. Do us all a favor and actually LOOK at a cosplay before judging it. These take a lot of work, I'd know.

October 2, 2012 at 3:29 pm |

CuriousCrow

The thing about Homestuck cosplay is that is looks easy but it is not. Homestuck cosplays require a lot of work some more then others of course. I am the Vriska cosplayer in the picture above so I know it is not simple. You can't see it in the picture but I have a robot arm with movable finger joints. like some other people have said the horns are difficult and the paint is expensive. Also I helped make the wings above and it is not easy. Yes I know Homestuck cosplays are not the most complicated of difficult coslays but they sure are not easy and simple even though the they tend to look it.

October 2, 2012 at 5:19 pm |

wrenthefaceless

A very small minorty of Homestuck cosplayers actually do this though, most of them slap on a t shirt, gray paint and bought horns and run around like idiots.

I'd agree with the quality piece, if there wasnt such an overwhelming amount of quantaty. Every big series is like this; Bleach, Naruto, One Piece. etc. Slap on crap and run around like idiots.

Kudos to you for actually caring about quality though, I'll always respect that

October 2, 2012 at 7:07 pm |

aftday

Damn those children and their fun!

October 2, 2012 at 9:37 pm |

Asaila

You obviously haven't read it. And if you did, you only lasted MAYBE two hundred pages. It takes real dedications and if you will, please do not insult us. The Homestuck fandom is one of the few fandoms that is actually a family. We're all family.❤

October 10, 2012 at 9:29 pm |

eni

I'm a bit sad that the facts for this article seem a bit askew? Homestuck does not have "millions" of fans. CNN should have tried harder for the facts – or at least asked Hussie. They should have just said 600,000 unique hits daily instead. If Homestuck had millions of fans, it'd be as famous as Justin Beiber. But it is not certainly "in the millions". I'd say at the 1 million mark, if not close to it but then again you cannot refer me either. Some 18 year old from the DailyDot article is not sufficient referencing enough.

October 2, 2012 at 5:17 am |

Homestuckfan

I find your statement about homestuck very rude for 1 pretty much just for a game to be made we raised over twice as much money needed and we do have millions of fans every where located. FYI justin bieber really thats what you came up to compare the very subject that changed my life to? Thats sick.

I agree with you (I didn't find it rude, but I doubt his statement that there aren't millions of Homestuck fans considering the posts we get on the forum alone), but you definitely could have phrased that without insulting him/her. Since, you know, he/she didn't say anything deliberately insulting in that post.

And people wonder why people view us as the worst fandom on the web...

October 2, 2012 at 5:46 pm |

aftday

Ey man you checked out the ad stats?

October 2, 2012 at 9:44 pm |

Dartigen

Actually, it's pretty probable that it is in the millions...seeing as we managed to crash Newgrounds AND Megaupload AND the main MS Paint Adventures site in the space of about 15 minutes. (S: Cascade...more like S: Break the internet.)

Now, MS Paint Adventures' main site doesn't exactly have anything to stop it from going down almost every update (it used to go down a lot more often, but it seems either Hussie has a better host now or the hosting company has beefed up its servers) but Newgrounds is pretty robust as a site and Megaupload can handle some pretty insane traffic. MS Paint Adventures alone registered over 1 million hits (in a short space of time), so you can imagine that the numbers required to down Newgrounds and Megaupload must have been in a similar, if not greater range.

October 18, 2012 at 1:54 am |

GirlMaverick

This is great! It's always so nice when something so original gets this kind of attention. Whatever else someone might say about Homestuck, it's definitely taking advantage of the medium in an unprecedented way. It's also nice because of all the different levels you can engage with it at, from reading it for the silly gags to thinking hard about the underlying reasons for the more obscure plot events and character actions and personality traits. Those more complicated things aren't forced on the reader, but enough detail is included to allow you to think about them if you want to.

October 2, 2012 at 2:43 am |

Amanda Panda

I'm so proud to be apart of this fandom, there's so much to it and so much to love about it! I understand people voicing their opinion but honestly, if you're going to do it, please remember that the two, maybe three people that comment disagreeing with you don't count for the rest of the fandom. Which is say... in the millions. The majority of the fandom is fine leaving you alone with your opinion.

Aside from that, i would just like to say again; i'm so proud of the fandom, and so lucky to be a part of it.❤

When i read through the first page of comments, i noticed that there are many haters of this fandom here. i wish to inform the general world, that, while there are haters everywhere, comparing us to 4chan and 9gag is uncouth and impolite, especially given that this is CNN, not Tumblr. save your hate for Tumblr, or actually sit down and read Homestuck. who knows? you may actually like it.
Also, too you Weeaboo like fans with the bucket jokes, please, don't, save them for your not-funny jokes file or trick-or-treating later this month, or conventions to give candy out to fellow fans.

Its crazy amazing that our fandoms so big. I cant believe weve done it... but we did.

Ladies and Gents, we did it. We climbed the media mountain!😄
nah but seriously its amazing cnn has taken an interest in Homestuck!

October 1, 2012 at 10:45 pm |

wunking

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7NGPn-s61g&w=640&h=390]

October 1, 2012 at 10:08 pm |

Marissa

And I am not surprised in the least by the presence of obnoxious Homestuck fans in this comment section. Really, linking the "bucket video" wasn't even necessary. You guys make a poor enough name for yourselves by your tendency to swarm every comment section that even tangentially references your comic-cult with irrelevant, spammy, poorly-grammatically-constructed comments.

Homestuck fandom, everyone. Behold it and be disgusted.

October 1, 2012 at 10:03 pm |

Stop right there.

That video was linked by someone who ISN'T a fan of Homestuck and was trying to make the fandom look bad. The fandom isn't really that bad. It's honestly the best fandom I've been a part of. There's a lot of good and talented people in this fandom. Please don't judge millions of people by the actions of few. And the behavior in that video is looked down upon by 99% of HS fans.

If you're really so disgusted with the Homestuck fandom, Marissa, why did you even read this article? Aren't you just giving the page views and therefore encouraging people to check it out?

I've been reading this for weeks, I've been posting on the forum for less than a week, and yet these fans make most other fandoms I've been involved in, especially members of games like MOBAs, look like absolute trash.

October 1, 2012 at 10:48 pm |

rainey

what everyone else said. and don't worry mar, nobody hates the homestuck fandom more than the homestuck fandom hates the homestuck fandom.

October 1, 2012 at 10:52 pm |

RW

Whoa.
Hold on.
Don't judge the entire HomeStuck fandom on a small percentage of us. That's the same as me meeting a lousy Doctor Who or Avengers Fan and basing the entire fandom off of them.

October 1, 2012 at 11:08 pm |

Benjamin

The 100+ characters aren't all main, though there's a good dozen or two.

October 1, 2012 at 10:03 pm |

wunking

how do you embed a video LOL um
ok oh well ill just link[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries&w=640&h=390]

Then don't read it. The sess-pool (sic) is more than happy to exist without you.

October 1, 2012 at 10:50 pm |

Humanity; the jerks were already here.

First of all cesspool is spelled with a c.

As with any large fandom, Homestuck is a small sample portion of the human population therefore, the comment about the fandom being jerks or weird is more a view on humanity in general and not on the fandom in question. (And people wonder why I'm misanthropic.)

Sure there are certain story elements in specific works that attract jerks into any certain fandom, but honestly I don't see it in Homestuck. You can't separate fandom from humanity as much as you'd like to try. Since Homestuck is one of the larger fandoms you can see more of the spectrum of humanity from elitist jerks who disgust us all, to people who donate to charity, and those who are in serious need of a fun escape.

Seriously, all this in-fighting in comments is doing is reminding me why humanity sucks.
This is why I like fictional characters they remind me of our potential to be AW--–ESOM--–E!

October 2, 2012 at 2:45 pm |

wunking

oh my god...
I'm literally crying right now
homestuck is.. the fandom.. the art
its beautiful
the fact that CNN is giving it the signal boost it deserves
i just dont know
im
im so proud to be apart of this fandom i m cry

October 1, 2012 at 9:08 pm |

Homestuck Trolls

THE FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELS!!!

Go re-blog your feelings ,and attach a gif.

October 1, 2012 at 9:51 pm |

done

im so done

October 1, 2012 at 9:05 pm |

Oz

This is really wonderful , after quite some time and the web comic is getting it's begging steps of big , maybe; maybe-not , recognition !

Going to assume, probably erroneously, that you aren't being sarcastic about the second part. A fandom is a group of people that follow something, like Homestuck. They're the fans. It's like a kingdom.

October 1, 2012 at 10:51 pm |

Mishy

we did it guys u w u we climbed the mountain

October 1, 2012 at 8:07 pm |

Kurohain

Huh? I thought everyone's heard of Homestuck. I haven't read it but I've heard of it.

October 1, 2012 at 7:35 pm |

Just Me

That's because you're probably 9 – have you done your homework yet? don't forget to be in bed by 8 – it's school day!

October 1, 2012 at 7:57 pm |

lizz0a

Yes, the only people who have heard of Homestuck are nine-year-olds. Which is why the people in the photograph above are clearly nine. And the several million people on the internet who have heard of Homestuck, all nine years of age.

October 1, 2012 at 8:22 pm |

inferno232

Sure thing, Grandpa! Gee whiz, I'm so proud you can still use the internet at the ripe age of ninety!

We did it.
We're this close to telling the ENTIRE WORLD about Homestuck!
I am so, so proud of this fandom.

October 1, 2012 at 7:22 pm |

Homestuck Trolls

Are you the same Minty from MF?

October 1, 2012 at 9:56 pm |

jyeli

i love homestuck

October 1, 2012 at 6:48 pm |

There is a 0.000000027% chance you hate this guy.

I would like to voice my opinion from a former Homestuck fan.

I've been following Hussie's adventures since halfway through Problem Sleuth (his second most recent MS Paint Adventures web-comic), and I have lived through many of the highs and lows of the fandom (emotions run rampant in the fanatic kingdom). I have defended Homestuck many times, and introduced at least 20 people to it ("let me tell you about...").

So the sudden influx of media attention from the recent Kickstarter should seemingly please me, but unfortunately this came at a most inopportune time. You see, I still defend my opinion that Homestuck continues to be one of the greatest displays of crowd-based activity, but I feel the actual consistency of Homestuck has been waning over the last few months, and maybe for as long as a year or two.

My opinion is that Homestuck should have ended a very long time ago. Insanity and confusion is very much one of Homestuck's major strengths, but there is a limit to where this continues to be exciting. As this article mentioned, there is over a hundred characters in homestuck (and 16 extremely important ones as of my last count), and that is very much not a good thing in my opinion. It is impossible to have any resemblance of emotional contact with all of them now.

The 4 characters at the beginning was good. The 12 characters of the middle was novel. Now? It's just a waste of what could've ended well but continues to drag on painfully with a hundred dead horses powering the flogomatic.

Disclaimer: The majority of this is opinion, and probably not yours. Saying "you're wrong" to one of my opinions adds the opinion of "you are an idiot" to my vast collection of opinions. Disclaimer: That was a disclaimer.

October 1, 2012 at 6:47 pm |

Yin

I can see how you would think that, and yes it is lengthy. But there's still a lot going on. If Hussie had rushed and wrapped it up really quickly, then this would not have the ending it so deserves. There's still a lot of story to tell. There are fast parts, and there are slow parts, but it doesn't really stop being interesting. So yes, if people were getting bored with the long story, then he should have wrapped it up. But he's still getting a million viewers a day who are all into it. I don't see a reason to end it at that.

October 1, 2012 at 7:24 pm |

aftday

Yeah. Homestuck continues to draw archival readers, and regrettably some serial readers get tired of the shenanigans. I've seen people who quit throughout the comic, from the beginning of Act 1 to just a few updates ago. But I have yet to see a dude who's just read through the whole shebang and not been entertained and edified. It's not proof and I don't hang around enough haters as I should, but there seems to be a very clear gap between new readers and old readers.

Maybe an opinion that didn't end with a disclaimer calling anyone who disagrees with you an idiot would have been better.

October 1, 2012 at 10:54 pm |

eni

uh no.. they weren't saying anyone who disagrees was an idiot, they were saying anyone who needs to respond to this persons comment to tell them why they should stop believing what they do is an idiot – because opinion is opinion and not fact. They're placing a disclaimer to warn "idiots" not to treat their comment like a piece of fact that needs to be refuted.

October 2, 2012 at 5:09 am |

Mateus M.

The only problem with HS is that the webcomic will hardly be famous, considering the fact that most of the people minds will blow up without reaching Act 6...serious, it's VERY confusing and complex (and not all the people have patience to read all the stuff, the story progesses very slowly because most of the facts happen simultaneously), but this is why the webcomic is so amazing.

October 1, 2012 at 6:33 pm |

Rohandrius

That's why there's a wiki page as well. It certainly helped me to keep things straight. Just have to be forewarned that it's spoileriffic.

October 2, 2012 at 4:16 am |

Jscvtt

Posted on hahaha. I put the tuerky baby on my blog a couple weeks ago as an example of how to terrify young children on Halloween. lol. These were pretty horrible. Though you do have to admire the craftsmanship

October 12, 2012 at 12:02 pm |

Rez o'Cool

I knew this would someday happen.. No longer are we the tiny cult like fandom with are ginormous gatherings at conventions then hiding in our closets at night to roleplay past curfew.... Not that we still don't do that, but now we're a well known and motivated group of people and it clearly shows to the rest of the world. I'm proud of this fandom as a whole and proud to part of it.

October 1, 2012 at 6:19 pm |

Mateus M.

Dear Homestuck, if you are reading this, it seems that you appeared in CNN and is finally an adult webcomic.
I am so proud of you son.

October 1, 2012 at 6:16 pm |

Andalite

Probably the best comment on this whole article.

October 1, 2012 at 7:03 pm |

El Jebus Krisp

Hah! Awesome.

October 1, 2012 at 8:58 pm |

thisisdeffmyname

It's great to see Homestuck finally being recognized. It's a great comic and seeing the creativity and dedication Hussie puts into it really inspires me, as an artist and writer. Here's hoping the video game will be just as awesome.

October 1, 2012 at 6:05 pm |

Meulin-in-the-deep

Wow.

So utterly speechless.

Congratulations fandom! And to THE HUSS for getting the recognition he deserved for creating this awesome comic!!!!!

Posted on Oh, I can't stop laughing! That is one of the funneist things I have seen in a looong time! It really IS kinda creepy except for the babies being so beautiful.I can't imagine either of my girls ever being content to lie under a giant roasted turkey. Wow.

im glad that homestuck is getting recognized by the media now but wow dang everyones getting kinda obsessed with that bucket spitting vid.

October 1, 2012 at 4:40 pm |

hikari

what bucket spitting video...? :I

October 1, 2012 at 4:50 pm |

Laura

It's a video of some rabid fans in cosplay (I think, I heard of this a while ago so I'm not entirely sure of the facts) spitting into a bucket and passing it around, because they're trying to be "lol buCKETS! TROLLS HAVING TEH SMEX!!111 XD". Most of the fandom prefers to keep it a secret.

Laura, most of the fandom prefers to not bring it up in the same way that most of the Christian society today prefers to not bring up the heretic-burnings that were happening before. It doesn't represent the majority of people today, and it's best forgotten.

Great article (and great quote, Deanna!) Homestuck has always been a uniquely inspired and intense fandom, as well as an often misunderstood one. I don't have time to write up a full response now, but I posted a link and typed up some questions that occurred to me as I was reading on our academic-themed Homestuck blog: http://academstuck.tumblr.com/post/32681897157/the-most-popular-epic-web-comic-youve-never-heard-of

October 1, 2012 at 4:09 pm |

zakitano

...
my entire life is a lie.

October 1, 2012 at 4:02 pm |

zakitano

wait no never mind ignore this

October 1, 2012 at 4:03 pm |

William Estevez

Can we just use our logic caps and agree that there are good and bad fans of everything? Please?

October 1, 2012 at 3:40 pm |

Emma

Yes, thank you!🙂 Just like every type of group or fandom, there are definitely some awful people...
But the majority, (also known as the ones you rarely hear about.) are amazing people.
Every group has them, and we can all agree on that🙂

October 1, 2012 at 3:55 pm |

A simple homestuck

and of course you can't forget, one of my personal favourites.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries&w=640&h=390]

October 1, 2012 at 3:32 pm |

arkfart

whhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

October 1, 2012 at 3:21 pm |

CRONUS

so i heard wve wvere sharing fandom accomplishments to offset the idiot that thinks homestucks spit in buckets?[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWC16tibFcE&w=420&h=315]

October 1, 2012 at 3:57 pm |

CuriousCrow

Hi I am the Vriska cosplayer! I'm so flattered to have my picture on here thank you to whoever decided to use it.

October 1, 2012 at 3:16 pm |

Katherine

Oh my gosh you're a fabulous Vriska! Congrats on a wonderful cosplay.

October 1, 2012 at 3:46 pm |

CuriousCrow

Thank you so much!

October 1, 2012 at 6:01 pm |

capriciousdreambubblegirl

oh wow ur cosplay is amazing! do you cosplay more and do you have a tumblr bc wow that looks really awesome!

October 1, 2012 at 4:05 pm |

CuriousCrow

Thank you! My tumblr is Curiouscrow.tumblr.com I have more pictures of me although you might have to wade through the post to get to the vriska ones. I also cosplayed Dahlia Hawthorne recently and have many more cosplays planned right now. Thanks!

October 1, 2012 at 5:29 pm |

Auth

Because most people will never see those epdoise unless they either buy the DVD search torrents or have a better cable package then most.If you are going to watch the show you need to know atleast the basics of what is going on at the moment, which is this.There is also a MASSIVE amount of information about doctor who, if you dont believe me try holding a discussion with someone who only watched the new series. Their eyes just start to glaze over when you get to the eye of harmony

November 14, 2012 at 7:02 pm |

Kemuri

Wait a sec, you cosplayed Dahlia? You may have just won the internet.

May 23, 2013 at 2:26 pm |

Sho

Waaah, love your cosplay. ;w;

This whole article blows my mind, I'm proud of this fandom, and really impressed with Hussie.

October 1, 2012 at 4:25 pm |

Epsilon

Indeed, most homestuck fans aren't like this. I'm part of WAStuck, a 500+ person group in WA State – as are the two girls in the header picture. We don't spit into buckets or other disgusting things like that – in fact, we tend to be welcomed back anywhere that we go.

We hold events at a local community center a few times a year, and we've been specifically invited back because we're good renters. Similarly, we've become known at many of the other places in the Seattle area – and we're respectful and courteous. If some of the younger (or just more rambunctious) members get too loud, others will keep things from getting out of hand.

Want to see what Homestucks really do? Here:
https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

We hang out, do chalk drawings (in Seattle, mind you, so it'll be washed away by rain,) watch fireworks from rooftops on New Year's Eve, and generally have fun. THAT is the essence of what Homestuck is all about.

This is great and all, but as part of my initiative to get people to stop equating young with stupid/badly behaved, could you please not equate young with loud and obnoxious? The vast majority of younger kids I know are quiet and reserved, not annoying or noisy.

October 1, 2012 at 11:03 pm |

Epsilon

My bad, and understandable – with that said, take the "young" comment in a Doc Scratch sort of context from me. As far as I'm concerned, almost EVERYONE in the fandom is "young" :p

I'll keep it in mind. *chuckle*

October 2, 2012 at 11:46 am |

Tabby vanpevenage

I'm in WAstuck to well my friend Summer is I'm still getting into the group though

October 2, 2012 at 6:56 pm |

Holly

To add to the pile of awesome...how bout song covers! I have been listening to this all evening! http://tindeck.com/listen/qbfx
I am always happy for the huge amount of this kind of fanwork, I absolutely love it!

October 1, 2012 at 3:11 pm |

Iggy

Well besides the disgusting bucket video which disgraces every homestuck fan, who would never do that.
Here's another wonderful thing in Homestuck. There are so many talented people in the fandom, just look!

As with the person's response with posting a video, it does illustrate that while Homestuck a popular and quite a precious comic to us all, there are also many jaded and just completely heartless people who get enjoyment out of ruining it for everyone else.

Every group has its share of bad eggs, there's no denying that, and this will probably just seem like another text comment that pales in comparison with being visually provocative of a video, but all the same, realize that what the people say in the actual written article is very much true, honest, and full of heart. And the snide commentary of one person isn't going to destroy that.

October 1, 2012 at 3:02 pm |

Holly

I admire the Homestuck fandom. Of course there are some shining stars as well and some dumbdumbs and the usual no-fun-allowed-guys. But I just...wow. It's so great.

And well if you really much have concrete evidence, let me try as well. How do you embed videos...[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ec6t16dZUE&w=640&h=390]

October 1, 2012 at 3:01 pm |

CSDragon

Yeah, let's just bury that vid with our accomplishments.

LIke this cool thang

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnG10rk9lqg&w=640&h=390]

October 1, 2012 at 2:59 pm |

A Homestuck

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant." So we do have a lovely fandom, with friendly people and we welcome anyone else who wants to be part of it with open arms c:

October 1, 2012 at 2:57 pm |

CSDragon

Yay coverage!

*looks at comments*

Oh dear crud no...

October 1, 2012 at 2:57 pm |

shelterSequestered

At least we're not Bronies.

October 1, 2012 at 2:51 pm |

Laura

Remember, each fandom has good and bad moments! Sure, bronies can be weird sometimes, but I do believe we've all done some amazing stuff, so let's just focus on congratulating Homestuck, all of us fans, and Andrew on making it to CNN!

October 1, 2012 at 5:10 pm |

aftday

at least we're not trolls

October 1, 2012 at 7:46 pm |

Rachael

no why is this video here? ugh this makes us all look like idiots and we're not. that's literally just a handful of people and now i'm mad. this article looks like it was made to mock us just because of that video.

Big props to the cosplayers featured here! I know them personally and they're both incredibly talented. Good job, girls!

October 1, 2012 at 2:48 pm |

puppetbro

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6imr5FrzNw4&w=640&h=390]

Here is a video of one of the things that most Homestuck fans do from the comic. Neat!

October 1, 2012 at 1:52 pm |

Whathuhwhat

Don't be discouraged! Just like in any fanbase, there was hoards of weird fans like the ones seen in this video. The majority of Homestuck fans are repulsed by the idea of this video.

October 1, 2012 at 2:34 pm |

TrueAndhonestHomestuck

No sorry most Homestucks ARE like this. They're hateful, disparaging to those who hold views that aren't "progressive" and are generally annoying in public. The ones you see that look good are the very few. My local campus is full of them and unfortunately they're hard to miss. For me, these sorts of things about Homestuck fans are true.

October 1, 2012 at 2:44 pm |

Khaled

Awesome cosplays, but Asuka is prtroayed all wrong. If she's not sneering and standing taller than everyone else, it's just not Her. Rei looks pretty much perfect, though- Slightly confused.

November 14, 2012 at 10:08 pm |

Hold on Just a Minute

Very very few fans have ever done that and in fact most of us are appalled by that kind of behavior. Don't lump us all in with them.

October 1, 2012 at 2:39 pm |

let me tell you about homestuck fans

that video, is despised by A HUGE number of fans. not only do they generally not act like that, theyre ususally rather strict on that sort of thing.
as an organizer of events, and photo shoots, i can tell you, that (bucket spitting) has never happened.
i think the worst that has actually happened is someone spilled faygo on someone else.
each fandom has its "bad" fans (remember when anime boston 2010 with the hetalians? or the naruto fans screaming "BELIEVE IT"?). these actions are NOT condoned by the masses, and often these individuals are ostracized.
im sorry to the individual who's local homestuck are rude, but i can tell you, that very few of the people i know in the fandom are like that. (theyre generally sweet and loving and perfect people).

October 1, 2012 at 3:00 pm |

sherly

are you trying to make everyone else look bad? we've all been over this. it was a disgusting video and those were just some immature weeaboo fans out of thousands of fans that are definitely NOT like that.

October 1, 2012 at 2:41 pm |

Lilly

I knew this damn video would come up. This video is a joke for pretty much all fans who recoil in disgust at it.

October 1, 2012 at 2:42 pm |

Rezi

Bro.
Bro your name is "puppetbro" you're one of us.
Also, not everyone is like that.
Like, ten people are like that.
WHOOOAAAAAA NELLY WHATS THAT? FANBASES HAVE SOME WEIRD PEOPLE?

October 1, 2012 at 2:44 pm |

Jackie

This video is generally considered by Homestuck fans to be unacceptable and totally nasty. This is not an accurate representation of our entire fandom. I am in a regional Homestuck fan group that contains at least 100 active members and I have never witnessed any such rude behavior from a single one. OP is a huge jerk.

October 1, 2012 at 2:52 pm |

El Jebus Krisp

Oh no, it's this video...

Can we please not get into this again?

October 1, 2012 at 9:02 pm |

BRB Facepalming

This is the small part of the fandom.
Sadly, the bad part of the fandom is the only part that spreads beyond the fandom.

About this Blog

It takes one to know one. When it comes to topics of interest to nerds, geeks, and superfans, we know how true that is. Geek Out! features stories from a nerd's perspective that you can still share with your "normal" friends and family.